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Photochemical reaction of dicobalt octacarbonyl with polymeric support systems results in formation of polymer bonded metal catalyst. Catalyst is used in hydroformylation (addition of carbon dioxide and hydrogen) of olefins to yield aldehydes.
Reaction state of thermosetting resin tracked to assure desired properties. Rate of gel determined as function of temperature by measuring time to gel of part of graphite fabric impregnated with Hexcel R120 (or equivalent) phenolic resin.
Experiments with a surface processes model of large-scale (1-1000 km) long-term (1-100 m.y.) erosional denudation are used to establish the controls on the evolution of a model escarpment that is related to the rifting of a continent. The mdoel describes changes in topographic form as a result of sumultaneous short- and long-range mass transport representing hillslope (diffusive) processes and fluvial transport (advection), repsectively. Fluvial entrainment is modeled as a first-order kinetic reaction which reflects the erodibility of the substrate, and therefore the fluvial system is not necessarily carrying at capacity. One dimensional and planform models demonstrate that the principal controls on the evolution of an initially steep model escarpment are (1) antecedent topography/drainage; (2) the timesale (or equivalently a length scale) in the fluvial entrainment reaction; (3) the flexural response of the lithosphere to denudation; and (4) the relative efficiencies of the short- and long-range transport processes. When rainfall and substrate lithology are uniform, a significant amount of discharge draining over the escarpment top causes it to degrade. Only when the top of the model escarpment coincides with a drainage divide can escarpment retreat occur for these conditions. An additional requirement for retreat of a model escarpment without decline is a long reaction time scale for fluvial entrainment. This corresponds to a substrate that is hard to detach by flucial erosion, and therefore to fluvial erosion that is not transport limited. Coninuous backtilting of an escarpment due ot flexural isostatic uplift in response to denudational unloading helps maintain the scarp top as a divide. It is essntial if the escarpment gradient is to be preserved during retreat in a uniform lithology. Low flexural rigidieties propote steep and slowly retreating escarpments. For given rainfall and substrate conditions, the morphology of a retraeating model escarpment is determined by the ratio of hte short-range diffusive and long range advective transport efficiencies. A low ration (which is interpreted to correspond to a more humid, temperate climate) produces a convex upper slope, and concave lower slope morphology and only major escarpments are predicted to preserve a high scarp gradient. Lithological contrasts in hte model produce more complex morphologies and predict the formation of scarps crowned by an erosionaly resistant caprock. However, resistant caprocks are not an essential requirement for model scarps to retreat. We conclude that the inferred controls and model behavior are both consistent with the present-day morphology of rifted continental margins and with modern conceptual models of landscape evolution.
A wet oxidation process was developed for oxidizing waste materials, comprising dissolved ruthenium salt in a reactant feed stream containing the waste materials. The feed stream is introduced into a reactor, and the reactor contents are then raised to an elevated temperature to effect deposition of a catalytic surface of ruthenium black on the interior walls of the reactor. The feed stream is then maintained in the reactor for a period of time sufficient to effect at least partial oxidation of the waste materials.
In Titan s atmosphere composed of N2 and CH4, irradiations of both solar ultraviolet light and charged particles induce active chemical reactions. In the processes of these reactions, a large amount of hydrogen (H) atoms are expected to be formed by dissociation of CH4 and other hydrocarbons [e.g., 1, 2]. Theoretical models suggest that these active H atoms need to be converted to stable hydrogen molecules (H2) efficiently to maintain unsaturated hydrocarbons and organic haze in Titan s atmosphere [e.g., 1]. Furthermore, molecular hydrogen is an important greenhouse effect gas in Titan s atmosphere, and small variation in its abundance strongly affects Titan s surface temperature [3]. Thus, the formation of H2 molecules from H atoms is a key reaction for both the atmospheric chemistry and the surface environment of Titan. Although several numerical calculations have been conducted to investigate the atmospheric chemistry of Titan with hypothesized recombination reactions of H atoms, such as catalytic scheme of C4H2 [e.g., 1, 2], it is still unclear what chemical reaction is responsible for the conversion of H atoms to H2 molecules in Titan s atmosphere.
Oxygen is a consumable material which needs to be produced continuously in most space missions. Its use for propulsion as well as life support makes oxygen one of the largest volume chemicals to be produced in space. Production of oxygen from lunar materials is of particular interest and is very attractive possibility. The kinetics and mechanism of reduction of ilmenite by carbon monoxide and hydrogen at 800 to 1100 C were investigated. The temporal profiles of conversion for carbon monoxide have a sigmoidal shape and indicate the presence of three different stages (induction, acceleration, and deceleration) during the reduction reaction. The apparent activation energy decreases from 18 kcal/mole at 10 percent conversion to 10 kcal/mole at 50 percent conversion. The reaction is first order with respect to carbon monoxide under the experimental conditions studied. Both SEM and EDX analysis show that the diffusion of Fe product away from the reaction front and through the TiO2 phase, followed by the nucleation and growth of a separate Fe phase are important steps affecting the process kinetics. The results from hydrogen reduction show that the mechanism of ilmenite reduction by hydrogen is similar to that by carbon monoxide. However, the titanium dioxide can be further reduced by hydrogen at 800 to 1000 C. The detailed comparison and theoretical modeling of both reduction processes is presented.
Kinetic theory of bimolecular chemical reaction and diffusive drag in gas mixtures
It is pointed out that significant redirection has occurred in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Photovoltaics Program, and thus in the Flat-Plate Solar Array Project (FSA), since the 3rd European Communities Conference. The Silicon Materials Task has now the objective to sponsor theoretical and experimental research on silicon material refinement technology suitable for photovoltaic flat-plate solar arrays. With respect to the hydrochlorination reaction, a process proof of concept was completed through definition of reaction kinetics, catalyst, and reaction characteristics. In connection with the dichlorosilane chemical vapor desposition process, a preliminary design was completed of an experimental process system development unit with a capacity of 100 to 200 MT/yr of Si.Attention is also given to the silicon-sheet formation research area, environmental isolation research, the cell and module formation task, the engineering sciences area, and the module performance and failure analysis area.
Sodium chloride is believed to be the primary source of turbine engine contamination that contributes to hot corrosion. The behavior of NaCl-containing aerosols ingested with turbine intake air is very complex; some of the NaCl may vaporize during combustion while some may remain as particulates. The NaCl can lead to Na2SO4 formation by several possible routes or it can contribute to corrosion directly. Hydrogen or oxygen atom reaction with NaCl(c) was shown to result in the release of Na(g). Gaseous NaCl in flames can be partially converted to gaseous Na2SO4 by homogeneous reactions. The remaining gaseous NaCl and other Na-containing molecules can act as sodium carriers for condensate deposition of Na2SO4 on cool surfaces. A frozen boundary layer theory was developed to predict the rates of deposition. The condensed phase NaCl can be converted directly to condensed Na2SO4 by reaction with sulfur oxides and O2. Reaction of gaseous NaCl with Cr2O3 results in the vapor phase transport of chromium by the formation of complex Cr-containing gaseous molecules. Similar gaseous complexes are formed with molybdenum. The presence of gaseous NaCl was shown to affect the oxidation kinetics of Ni-Cr alloys. It also causes changes in the surface morphology of Al2O3 scales formed on Al-containing alloys.
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Temperature and density conditions are considered for the occurrence of breakup reactions of light nuclei in astrophysical plasmas. The proton-induced endothermic process is shown to be the principal mechanism for nuclear breakdown in a plasma. The phenomenon occurs at a temperature of about 1 MeV, which is a fraction of the typical binding energy per nucleon in nuclei. The temperature for breakup of He-4 is about twice as large, because of the higher binding energy. Depending on the temperature attained in the plasma, the initial concentration of elements heavier than hydrogen can be depleted. However, if it attains a temperature of about 1 MeV, breaking up the metals (C, N, O, Ne, Mg) but not He-4, an increase in the He-4 abundance by as much as 10 percent can result, since these elements essentially break down to alpha particles.
The absolute rate constant for the reaction O((3)P) + HOBr has been measured between T = 233K and 423K using the discharge-flow kinetic technique coupled to mass spectrometric detection. The value of the rate coefficient at room temperature is (2.5 +/- 0.6) x 10(exp -11)cu cm/molecule/s and the derived Arrhenius expression is (1.4 +/- 0.5) x 10(exp -10) exp((-430 +/- 260)/T)cu cm/molecule/s. From these rate data the atmospheric lifetime of HOBr with respect to reaction with O((3)P) is about 0.6h at z = 25 km which is comparable to the photolysis lifetime based on recent measurements of the UV cross section for HOBr. Implications for HOBr loss in the stratosphere have been tested using a 1D photochemical box model. With the inclusion of the rate parameters and products for the O + HOBr reaction, calculated concentration profiles of BrO increase by up to 33% around z = 35 km. This result indicates that the inclusion of the O + HOBr reaction in global atmospheric chemistry models may have an impact on bromine partitioning in the middle atmosphere.
The use of multi-configurational wave functions is demonstrated for several processes: tautomerization reactions in the ground and excited states of the DNA base adenine, dissociation of glycine molecule after electronic excitation, and decomposition/deformation of novel rare gas molecules HRgF. These processes involve bond brealung/formation and require multi-configurational approaches that include dynamic correlation.
An effort was undertaken to determine if the formation of the generally observed layer of large porosity adjacent to the as-nitride surfaces of reaction bonded silicon nitrides could be prevented during processing. Isostatically pressed test bars were prepared from wet vibratory milled Si powder. Sintering and nitriding were each done under three different conditions:(1) bars directly exposed to the furnance atmosphere; (2) bars packed in Si powder; (3) bars packed in Si3N4 powder. Packing the bars in either Si of Si3N4 powder during sintering retarded formation of the layer of large porosity. Only packing the bars in Si prevented formation of the layer during nitridation. The strongest bars (316 MPa) were those sintered in Si and nitrided in Si3N4 despite their having a layer of large surface porosity; failure initiated at very large pores and inclusions. The alpha/beta ratio was found to be directly proportional to the oxygen content; a possible explanation for this relationship is discussed.
Mathematical and physical modeling of turbulence phenomena in metals processing, electromagnetically driven flows in materials processing, gas-solid reactions, rapid solidification processes, the electroslag casting process, the role of cathodic depolarizers in the corrosion of aluminum in sea water, and predicting viscoelastic flows are described.
Pressure and temperature are controlled precisely and water is rapidly removed to inhibit back reaction in process.
Intelligent sensor technology and systems are increasingly becoming attractive means to serve as frameworks for intelligent rocket test facilities with embedded intelligent sensor elements, distributed data acquisition elements, and onboard data acquisition elements. Networked intelligent processors enable users and systems integrators to automatically configure their measurement automation systems for analog sensors. NASA and leading sensor vendors are working together to apply the IEEE 1451 standard for adding plug-and-play capabilities for wireless analog transducers through the use of a Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) in order to simplify sensor setup, use, and maintenance, to automatically obtain calibration data, and to eliminate manual data entry and error. A TEDS contains the critical information needed by an instrument or measurement system to identify, characterize, interface, and properly use the signal from an analog sensor. A TEDS is deployed for a sensor in one of two ways. First, the TEDS can reside in embedded, nonvolatile memory (typically flash memory) within the intelligent processor. Second, a virtual TEDS can exist as a separate file, downloadable from the Internet. This concept of virtual TEDS extends the benefits of the standardized TEDS to legacy sensors and applications where the embedded memory is not available. An HTML-based user interface provides a visual tool to interface with those distributed sensors that a TEDS is associated with, to automate the sensor management process. Implementing and deploying the IEEE 1451.1-based Network-Capable Application Process (NCAP) can achieve support for intelligent process in Integrated Systems Health Management (ISHM) for the purpose of monitoring, detection of anomalies, diagnosis of causes of anomalies, prediction of future anomalies, mitigation to maintain operability, and integrated awareness of system health by the operator. It can also support local data collection and storage. This invention enables wide-area sensing and employs numerous globally distributed sensing devices that observe the physical world through the existing sensor network. This innovation enables distributed storage, distributed processing, distributed intelligence, and the availability of DiaK (Data, Information, and Knowledge) to any element as needed. It also enables the simultaneous execution of multiple processes, and represents models that contribute to the determination of the condition and health of each element in the system. The NCAP (intelligent process) can configure data-collection and filtering processes in reaction to sensed data, allowing it to decide when and how to adapt collection and processing with regard to sophisticated analysis of data derived from multiple sensors. The user will be able to view the sensing device network as a single unit that supports a high-level query language. Each query would be able to operate over data collected from across the global sensor network just as a search query encompasses millions of Web pages. The sensor web can preserve ubiquitous information access between the querier and the queried data. Pervasive monitoring of the physical world raises significant data and privacy concerns. This innovation enables different authorities to control portions of the sensing infrastructure, and sensor service authors may wish to compose services across authority boundaries.
The Wash Water Recovery System (WWRS) is intended for use in processing shower bath water onboard a spacecraft. The WWRS utilizes flash evaporation, vapor compression, and pyrolytic reaction to process the wash water to allow recovery of potable water. Wash water flashing and foaming characteristics, are evaluated physical properties, of concentrated wash water are determined, and a long term feasibility study on the system is performed. In addition, a computer analysis of the system and a detail design of a 10 lb/hr vortex-type water vapor compressor were completed. The computer analysis also sized remaining system components on the basis of the new vortex compressor design.